


smile

by WattStalf



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms
Genre: M/M, dead character mentions, no mention of who gets lucille'd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 16:22:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6617662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jesus got under Daryl's skin, and what was worse, he knew that he got under Daryl's skin, and he seemed to take a lot of pleasure in that. Meaning that, if he had the free time, he never left Daryl alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	smile

**Author's Note:**

> I mean, I ship this, so I wrote something. I'm really stupidly vague about who got Lucille'd, just because I didn't want to speculate or anything. The only thing this story assumes is that it isn't Daryl or Rick (duh), so yeah. Some fluff.  
> 

He was there for a reason, or so Rick said, and Daryl knew, deep down, that he was right. But that didn't mean he had to like it, and he certainly didn't like the fact that one of his least favorite people (taking fourth place to Negan and Dwight and all the rest of the Saviors in one slot) had to be present in Alexandria while retaliation was planned.

They were allies with the Hilltop now and, to cement that, Jesus was staying in Alexandria until further notice, providing Rick with as much information as he could. And maybe that wouldn't have been so bad, but Jesus got under Daryl's skin, and what was worse, he _knew_ that he got under Daryl's skin, and he seemed to take a lot of pleasure in that. Meaning that, if he had the free time, he never left Daryl alone.

Always, whenever Daryl thought that he could get a moment's peace, Jesus would pop up, making idle conversation as if he didn't have a care in the world. This would have bothered him at any time, not being the friendliest of people, but things were too damn serious right now and Jesus was too damn cheerful, and Daryl hated it.

He didn't want to be happy, not right now. Not after losing his own brother and just about anyone else he got close to, not while Carol and Morgan were missing, not after everything that had happened with Negan. Maybe someday he would be able to sit back and let himself be happy just to be alive, but for now, he just couldn't allow it. Whenever he did, he'd remember Merle or Beth or Denise or the most recent loss, which was still too painful to even think about, and he just couldn't. So Jesus grated on his nerves more than he could possibly say, because he was so cheerful that he almost made it hard not to be cheerful around him.

Luckily, Daryl was experienced in resisting contagious joy, and met the other man's attempts of friendship with his usual snark, brushing him off with ease. Jesus was nothing but a pain in the ass, and had been since they had first met; Daryl had no intention of being this man's friend.

But even as he made that as clear to Jesus as he could, the man simply did not listen to him. In fact, the more he tried to make this clear, the more Jesus seemed to put forth the effort to talk to him. It got so bad that, at last, that he finally asked him why he kept bothering him, and Jesus laughed.

“Isn't it obvious?” he asked. “I like you.”

“Well, I don't like you,” replied Daryl.

“Aw, come on, I'm sorry about all the stuff that happened before,” he said. “You know, with the truck and all.”

“Ain't just about that. I just don't like you.”

“So what else is it, then?” asked Jesus, with that damn grin.

“Cos you annoy the shit out of me,” he muttered, and turned to walk away. Much to his frustration, Jesus trailed along behind him, stillnot at all deterred by Daryl's standoffish behavior.

“Could you maybe tell me exactly what annoys you so much? You know, for future reference.”

He could have ignored the question or answered vaguely, just like he always did, but this time, Daryl decided not to hold back. He had been putting up with this for so long that he couldn't keep what was bothering him in anymore. “Ya walk around, actin' like nothing's wrong when everything's gone to shit, and I don't like that. I got my own problems, an' I don't wanna spend time shootin' the breeze when there's important shit to do!”

“Whoa, hey, I didn't mean to...you know, offend you or anything. I just wanted to get to know you better, is all,” said Jesus, and Daryl stopped, turning back to face him and glaring.

“I made it pretty damn clear I don't wanna get to know you,” he shot back.

“I'm not acting like nothing's wrong, you know. You have that wrong, at least,” the other man said. “I know things are hard for you here. Things have been hard where I'm from for a while too, but I try to be optimistic because it helps people. People like to see a smiling face when things get bad. It helps cheer them up.”

“Some people don't wanna be cheered up,” said Daryl.

“There's no reason for you not to want to,” he replied. “Maybe you need to stop being so hard on yourself.”

“Who says I'm bein' hard on myself?” His tone was too defensive.

“I'd say that answers my question, honestly. Look, whatever it is that's got you keeping up this tough, angry act all the time...it isn't worth it. Trust me, it's nice to let yourself smile every now and then. That's part of why I wanted to get to know you better. I wanna see if I can help make you smile a letter more,” said Jesus, sounding so genuine that Daryl couldn't help but believe him.

“So? Don't see why ya'd wanna do a thing like that with me,” he grumbled.

“Well, that has something to do with the other part,” Jesus replied. “Like I said before, I just like you.” And before Daryl had a chance to react, he leaned forward and gave him the smallest of kisses before pulling back and flashing him that damn grin again. And before Daryl could react, he'd turned and started of.

“The hell was that for?” he asked, following after him, but Jesus just kept going, laughing to himself and not answering. Soon enough, it had turned into a chase, with Daryl demanding answers while Jesus did not give him any, and soon enough, Daryl caught himself laughing as well. He didn't know what the hell this man's game was, but he seemed to have won this round; he _had_ succeeded in making Daryl smile.

 


End file.
